


Someone Else's Nightmare

by Phlogistics



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: AO3 1 Million, Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Femslash February, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-17
Updated: 2014-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-12 18:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1195770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phlogistics/pseuds/Phlogistics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Even if it took a million tries, I would always save you. I promise."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someone Else's Nightmare

_The air buzzed around her like static, the thunder of a high, sickening laugh crackling over her skin. The creature in front of her was perched peacefully on a pile of rubble, headless of the destruction around it, its offer hanging heavily in the space between them. A desperate cry from far off—_

 

“Madoka!”

Madoka’s eyes flew open, pulse pounding at the sense of _wrongness_ scrabbling down her back. Her arm shot out, automatically grasping for the broach on her side table, power already tingling in her fingertips.  A hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, breaking the magic’s flow.

A quivering voice repeated, “M-Madoka?”

Madoka stilled, recognition making her flush with guilt. She had nearly attacked— “Homura-chan?”

The hand gentled, and Madoka watched Homura shrink back with a wince. Madoka swallowed, trying to calm her racing heart. The disquieting feeling had begun to fade with her dream, leaving only a hollow chill in its wake. A quick glance around the room revealed nothing amiss—the only impermanent fixture was Homura herself, and even that was hardly an oddity: Junko had long ago granted her permission to stay over whenever she liked.

Everything was fine; she had just been overreacting. An uncomfortable feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. She should be _better_ than this by now.

Homura shuffled closer to her, and Madoka curled up, pressing her face into her hands. “I’m sorry, Homura-chan,” she said, sniffling.

“It’s not—it’s—I don’t mind, Madoka,” Homura stuttered. Her hand tentatively came to rest on Madoka’s hair, stroking the sleep-mussed locks. “It would be ungrateful of me to complain when you’re letting me stay the night. Besides, I know how frightening a bad dream can be, and it’s been—it’s been hard for all of us recently. It’s understandable that you would be having nightmares.”

Madoka shook her head. “I know, but… that isn't even what I was dreaming about,” she admitted, cringing as Homura’s hand hesitated. “What Nefarious is doing right now should be what’s scaring me, but I’m not really worried about it at all. I know we can face this, together—we’re Magical Girls, aren’t we? We’ve beaten worse foes than her, and as long as we work as a team, there’s nothing we can’t do.

“In my dream… it was worse. I don’t remember it, really, except a feeling, but—” She hesitated.

“But?” Homura echoed, an odd note in her voice.

Madoka bit her lip. “It felt like… a world without hope. As if there were something fundamentally broken about it, and it was my fault. No matter what I tried, I kept failing.” In a small voice, she added, “I think I died.”

Homura made a quiet, pained noise, and lent over to embrace Madoka. “ _No_ ,” she murmured fervently. “No. Even if it took a million tries, I would always save you. I promise.”

Madoka felt the ticklish brush of magic in Homura’s touch, and her guilt surged up again. She knew Homura couldn’t always control her Sight— had she seen Madoka’s dream when she touched her?  She grasped Homura’s hand, squeezing it in apology. Homura pulled her closer, resting her cheek against Madoka’s shoulder.

Homura whispered into her hair, reciting the familiar words with quiet conviction: “With kindness comes wisdom. Courage becomes strength. And a dedicated heart will gain a just reward. Learn this, and you will know what it means to be a Magical Girl.” She laid a small kiss on top of Madoka’s head. “That’s what we were told, right? So whatever that place was, it isn’t here. Believe in yourself, and you can make the reality you wish for.”

Madoka smiled, leaning into Homura’s embrace. “Thank you,” she said softly. “But if I find it hard to believe in myself sometimes… do you mind if I believe in you instead?”

Homura blushed fiercely. “Alright," she said. "And I'll believe in you. Then we can do anything."

**Author's Note:**

> In celebration of AO3 reaching one million fanworks, I decided to give myself the prompt "one million" for a one-shot, and this is the result. I've always wanted to read a PMMM fic that was about a more conventional Magical Girl setting, so I decided to sort of run with that. And I'm a sucker for AU versions of characters having awareness of the awfulness of the canon universe, so that combination was where this fic came from. Somehow it just became massively schmoopy.


End file.
